DJ/producer Jose Nunez was born into a family of musicians. The Latin and Jazz flavors that nurtured him have surfaced as the essence of his music making, although Nunez' forte is his versatility. Wax Magazine (UK) describes Nunez best, "If you're into things with a groovy twist or a disco feel, then he's your man."
Nunez' slew of original solo productions demonstrates his creative agility. His first big solo success, "Hold On" featuring former C+C vocalist Octavia, catapulted Nunez into another league and reeled in the praise for Subliminal Records. While "Hold On" was still hot, Subliminal released the massive follow-up, "In My Life". So successful was Nunez' synergy with Octavia's vocals he was compelled to include her on his remix for "Big Love", a Dronez hit from last summer.
"Music is like a moment to me," Nunez explains. "When you're making a record, everything that happens is a part of one moment. If everybody can understand the result and experience it like I did, then that's the reward." He's come a long way from the precocious seventh grader who tried to mix with a turntable and a tape deck.
The New Jersey native supported himself by DJing at local clubs and bars while attending the Center of Media Arts where he focused on engineering and producing. The smoke filled rooms soon fell by the wayside when he stepped up his efforts. "I came out of school, stopped DJing and bought a bunch of equipment. I locked myself in a room for six months, and believed in myself."
Nunez' vigor for the music was rewarded when he met producer Erick Morillo, now a longtime friend and business partner. He engineered and mixed his first big record, "Move It", from Morillo's group Reel 2 Real's first album. The relationship continued, and the following year Nunez was recruited to produced tracks with Morillo for Reel 2 Real's second album, including "Are You Ready For Some More" and "Mueve La Cadera", which launched Nunez into a new echelon as a producer.
Between 1995 and 1997, Nunez was keeping busy with many projects in addition to his work with Morillo. His first solo project, Millennium Volume 1 (Cutting Records) was completely original and experimental, and originated from his association with a production company called Millennium Music. Although Nunez was still finding his direction as a producer, this project received a warm response, particularly the track "Everybody Reach."
The turning point in Nunez' musical production which brought him closer to his current sound, was his next project "U-High? / Feel It", which was part of the Nights of the Roundtable self-titled EP (Gossip Records). He found a way to infuse his Latin roots into the music particularly with the production "Aqua" by St. John, which was a huge step for him in the area of Latin percussion.
The hard, animated, and energetic edge of subsequent releases, Dr. Love's "Slow Dancing", "Stay Out All Night", and the hip hop infused Milkman cut, "The Milkman's On His Way" established yet another realm of experimentation for Nunez.
Whether continuing production with Morillo under the Pianoheadz guise, teaming up with Harry 'Choo Choo' Romero to form the Constipated Monkey's, or working with them both as The Dronez, Nunez has been at the helm of some powerfully funky, slammin' club hits over the past couple of years. Everything from Pianoheadz "Distortion" to the Dronez remix of Madison Avenue "Don't Call Me Baby" highlights the outstanding ability of Jose Nunez.
His recent work includes a remix of Astrotrax "Energy' for Defected in the UK, production on the Subliminal release "Don't Worry" by Mangera , an exclusive US remix of "Life" on the Bob Sinclar "Champs Elysees" album and his own "Harmonizer", a big success for the Sondos label.
In 2002, Jose Nunez is having a great year with his three massive club productions "Air Race", "The Inside" featuring Shawnee Taylor and "Come & Give Me Something" , which is co-produced by Harry "Choo Choo" Romero and PALMRICH. Jose has also mixed two compilation albums, Subliminal Pacha with Harry "Choo Choo" Romero and Secret Weapons with Richard F and Melvin Moore.
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